High school boys basketball: Ute signee Jaxon Johnson scores 18 second-half points to send Alta to 5A championship game

Entering the locker room at the end of the first half, Alta senior forward Jaxon Johnson felt the need to apologize to his teammates.

After the four-star Utah signee shot an abysmal 1 of 7 in the first half of the Hawks’ semifinal game against No. 4 Timpview, and the Thunderbirds pushed out to a 40-30 lead at halftime.

“I had just played the worst first half of basketball I’d played all year,” Johnson said. “I wasn’t okay with that. I just knew that wasn’t how I wanted my last high school game to end.”

Johnson tapped into a whole new zone in the fourth quarter, going on a personal 8-0 run and scoring 11 points by himself as the Hawks ran past Timpview, 72-60, in the final eight minutes to clinch a chance to defend its 5A crown in the state championship game on Friday.

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“Defensively, we just locked in,” Alta coach Travis Ohrn said. “We got into halftime and Jaxon just told everybody, ‘Hey, that’s on me, I’ll get us back, I promise.’ We just went to him. What a stud.”

Was the logo on the floor of the Huntsman Center anything Johnson had his eye on?

“Not at all,” Johnson said. “That’s three years down the road. I’m playing for Alta right now.”

Alta started out the game with shooting 11 of 33 from the floor, and Johnson’s game-opening 3-pointer was the only thing he’d been able to convert.

Meanwhile, Timpview sophomore Dean Rueckert was putting on a show of his own, shooting 9 of 11 through the first half and putting up 23 points.

Ultimately, it was a tale of two halves and two players. Rueckert started, and with 18 second-half points, Johnson finished it.

Johnson led Alta with 21 points and had a 7-of-15 clip by game’s end. Senior forward Carter Doleac added 18 points on 6 of 16 from the floor, though he was a perfect 6 of 6 from the charity stripe.

However, Johnson wasn’t the only spectacle wearing an Alta uniform. Johnson was gracious in heaving praise on sophomore Zak Paepke. The guard, who came in averaging just over 3 points per game, went off for 16 points on a perfect 7 of 7 from the floor.

“He’s a hooper, and honestly, I don’t give him enough opportunity, but I’m so proud of him for being ready,” Ohrn said. “His number was called to go out on a huge stage. People look at the point, but he rebounded, he defended, he did everything.”

Timpview was led by Rueckert, who cooled off after the first half in a big way and finished with 25 points. Aisa Galae’I added another 11 points

Timpview ended the first quarter with an 11-run capped by an alley-oop dunk by Rueckert, and the T-Birds stayed an arm’s length from the Hawks through the first half.

The two squads continued to trade baskets through most of the third quarter, but Alta outscored Timpview, 8-3, down the stretch, helped along with two free throws and a 3-pointer from Johnson.

It was all Hawks in the final quarter as they ran over Timpview, 23-8, in the last eight minutes.